


WEEK IN THE W.M. U. TRAINING SCHOOL 
BY THREE TRAINING SCHOOL GIRLS 
334 E. BROADWAY, LOUISVILLE, KY. 








A WEEK IN THE W. M. U. TRAINING SCHOOL. 
By Three Training School Girls. 


For the three of us to be called in the principal’s room was alarming. But it 
was still more so, to be told we must write a leaflet—one of those green, yellow and 
pink things other people have been writing, and we have been reading since our “‘Sun- 
beam State.’ Things grew worse, however, when we were also told, like all leaflets (>) 
“It must be bright, chatty and up-to-date.’’ But one rose superior to the difficulty 
and said as one of us was bright, another chatty, and the third up-to-date, together 
we might do it, however much you may disagree with us. We believe, though, that 
our friends and loved ones all over this dear Southland of ours, are already interested 
in us, and want to hear more about us and our daily life. Therefore we are going to 
ask you to spend a week with us in this, your “‘clinic’’ in our Father's service. 


If the old adage about the good of early rising be true, the proverbial ‘““worms’”’ 
will fare badly around us, for we are early risers. On Sunday mornings we may sleep 
until half after six, but Monday mornings the gong rings at six, and we must rise 
promptly; for almost all the minutes of this day and every day are full. At 6:45 


the silence bell rings, and we take our “petty round of irritating concerns and duties” 
to our Heavenly Father and get “‘strength to play our parts and to perform them 
with laughter and kind faces.’’ Seven o’clock finds us ready for breakfast, and from 
all the rooms the girls come trooping. “‘Big girls, little girls, tall girls, short girls,’’— 
all down into the dining room. In three minutes we must all be in place. The girl 
who leads devotions for the day, also asks the blessing now and at the other two meals. 
' Our breakfast is a merry meal, as all our meals are—bright, happy faces, and conver- 
sation cheery and sparkling, but through it all we remember that, 


“The Lord is the Head of this house, 


The Unseen Guest at every meal, 
The Silent Listener to every conversation.’ 


’ 


After a half hour we go to the Chapel where one of the girls—taken in alpha- 
betical order, has charge of the devotions. Besides this gathering around our family 
altar being of real spiritual uplift to us, it also helps us overcome our timidity in tak- 
ing charge of meetings. 


We are still face to face, however, with the “‘eternal womanly,” and as soon as 
devotions are over we hurry to our rooms now thoroughly aired and ready to be cleaned. 
The ever present Monday morning duties of getting up the laundry, drawing up this 


hole, making a “‘jail door’ there and sewing on a buttcn here are before us, for by nine 
o clock everything must be in the Jaundry in the basement. 


Monday is half holiday, and today we certainly put our rooms in apple-pie order. 
We generally keep cur rcoms spick and span, “if we do say it as shouldn’t,”’ for at 
any and all hours they are open to inspection by members of the house committee 
and any visitors who are interested and wish to see them. 


Besides the care of our own rooms, each of us has an hour’s work each day in 
domestic duties. In our big school which will accommodate forty girls we have only 
three servants, the cook, the janitor and the laundress. The girls, consequently have 
the care of the bath rooms, the dining room, the studio, the chapel and the parlors. 
We arrange the tables, serve the meals, wait on table and wash the dishes. We sweep 
and dust and keep all of our ‘““House Beautiful,’ as clean as Louisville smoke and dirt 
will allow. Mrs. Effie N. Amerine, who is the head of the domestic department, 
appoints us to serve at these duties for one month and then our duties are changed 
so that every girl may receive the benefit of experience in each kind of work. 


Dinner is ready at |:30 and after the dinner half hour lessons begin again. 


We all study music, and our piano lessons must begin thus early in the week. 


Miss Humphrey patiently drills us in our |, 2, 3, 4s, and in harmony. Each girl has 
two piano lessons a week and one hour’s practice a day. Most of us are just begin- 
ning to study music but we hope in our two year’s music course to learn how to play 
the hymns that we shall need in our Mission work. 


Three o'clock finds the Juniors trudging to the Seminary to the Old Testament 
class which Dr. Sampey teaches three times a week, while the Seniors prepare for the 
Personal Workers’ class at the Training School. Mrs. McLure, our Principal, teaches 
this, using as a basis of instruction De Vine’s “‘Principles of Relief.”’ 


During the half hour just before supper all students of the school assemble in 
the Chapel and report the work on the various mission fields of the city in which we 
are engaged. We discuss plans for work, and try to help each other by suggestions 
and by prayer. At six we have supper, followed by a half hour of devotions. 


Monday evenings must not be overlooked, for these, with the third Sunday 
nights are the times when Man appears in visible form in this feminine establishment. 
But really not many of them appear, for most of us feel we are too busy studying to 
do much entertaining. That sounds almost too angelic to be true, but it really 1s. 
When ten o’clock arrives we leave the study hall or the parlors, our guests depart, 
and we go to our rooms to be ready for the “‘lights out”’ at 10:30. 


On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings we study New Testament with 
Dr. Robertson, and the Seniors have Comparative Religions and Missions with Dr. 
McGlothlin, and Church History, all at the Seminary. In the afternoons of Tuesday. 
and Thursday, the Juniors have Sunday School Pedagogy with Dr. DeMent, and on 
Tuesday also Personal Work, taught by Mrs. McLure at the Training School. Dr. 
Torrey’s book on this subject is used as a text. It consists of verses of scripture to 
be memorized that will help in leading people to Christ. The Seniors have the privi- 
lege of being instructed by the honored president of the Seminary, Dr. E. Y. Mullins, 
in Systematic Theology four afternoons in the week. 


None of us have ever had the privilege of standing on Nebo and viewing the 
landscape oer, but next to the actual visit to the Holy Land is Dr. Eager’s graphic 
description of it, and we regret that our course only includes a half year’s work in 
Biblical Introduction under his tutelage. Our Mission Study Class is taught in a 
charming way this year by Mrs. Eager, who has deepened our interest in City Mis- 
sions by her leadership in the “Challenge of the City.’ Last year Mrs. DeMent, 
the wife of our Professor of S.S. Pedagogy, taught the class in Mission Study, clearing 
up all cobwebs of doubt (if we ever had any) as to “The Why and How of Foreign 
Missions.” It is very interesting to note that the teacher’s gift is not limited to the 
Professors alone, but their wives have an equal share in this great art. Ecclesiology 


is included in the work of our third year, and this subject is taught by the sweet spir- 
ited pastor-professor, Dr. Gardner. 


The medical lectures on Tuesday evenings are not to be forgotten. These are 
given by a leading female physician of the City and if you could hear the quick and 
eager questions that assail her at the close of the lecture, you would be sure of our 
interest if not of our information. 


On Wednesday and Friday beside the work already mentioned, we have elocution. 
Miss Dover scarce expects girls of our age to speak in public—in the pulpit, but she 
hopes to teach us to speak more distinctly and to enunciate more clearly. 


Two evenings in the week we have a gymnasium class, and then the fun waxes 
warm. We have not yet very much apparatus but we clear the chapel of the chairs 
and even without such equipment, perform feats that are really wonderful. Miss 
Wade takes us through the Swedish movements that are so valuable and gives us 
games that set our blood racing through our veins. After this we go back to our 
books with so much freshness and vigor that even the doctrine of election seems 
almost understandable. 


On Thursday the only thing new under our school sun is sight singing, which is 


the despair of Mrs. McLure. We mix up do, re, mi’s to such an alarming extent we 
scarcely know mi from any one else, and few can be sure that our sols are our own. 


Friday evenings we enjoy very much Miss Leachman’s lecture. She is a most 
successful city missionary, and lives so near to us that whenever we meet with any 
difficulties in our practical mission work, our first thought is that Miss Leachman 
can help us, and our second thought is that she has cleared away the difficulties. 


All of Saturday afternoon is spent in practical mission work. We go out two 
and two and visit the poor and needy. Most of our work is done in connection with 
our Mission Sunday School classes, but through these we reach a much wider circle. 
When we find cases that need material assistance we report these to some one of the 
city's charitable organizations. Whenever possible we carry our King’s message of hope 
to some soul that is in darkness. One of the girls brought $5.00 back with her this 
year, given her by her home Sunday School to buy Bibles for homes where there are 
none. By means of this we have been enabled to place quite a number. 


Some of us teach in Industrial Schools, some are Sunbeam leaders, and others teach 
Mission Study classes. We also visit the City Hospital, the Alms House, the Or- 
phans’ Homes and similar institutions, always doing with our might anything that 
our hands find to do. The special work of two of us must be mentioned. They are 


subject at any time to emergency calls. Whenever there is a special need of work at any 
time during the week, these two may be called upon to go. 


Our time is not so crowded that we do not take much interest in our Y. W. A. 
for here we may display our knowledge of parliamentary practice, and may develop 
inventiveness in programme making. Wonderfully helpful are our monthly meetings 
and we lay special stress on plans and programmes which will entertain and interest 
other girls whose interest in the affairs of the Kingdom is not so vital as ours. 


Sunday is the busiest day of all. It seems meet that the Master’s servants should 
avail themselves of every moment of this Lord’s Day in His worship and service. 


The mornings are given either to teaching in Mission Sunday Schools or in visit- 
ing well organized Sunday Schools, that we may learn at first hand the methods of 
successful teachers. At the eleven o'clock service we scatter to various Churches or 
remain for the preaching service at the Mission where our teaching is done. In the 
afternoon those who have not taught in the morning, teach classes in Mission Sunday 


Schools. 


Most of us have done a great deal of work in building up and enlarging our classes 
and are much interested in our work. In our reports of mission work the discussions 


as to the doings and sayings of ‘““my boys”’ or “my girls’? show how close these child- 
ren are to our hearts. 


Now are we not busy? Almost every moment, as you see, is filled, and we are 
learning everything possible about the greatest of all books. 


However there is one thing that we can not make real to you unless you could 
live with us in our “House Beautiful,’ and that is the wholesome spirituality that is 
the chief characteristic of our School. No small factor in promoting this is our prin- 
cipal, Mrs. McLure, beloved by all, who is a young lady of the old school, with all 
the good and beautiful traits those words carry with them. We must repeat we have 
no moral cranks, no religious dyspeptics, but a band of earnest, true, noble-hearted 
girls who realize the vast amount of work to be done in our Father’s kingdom and 
who are cheerfully preparing themselves to help carry out His great command, “‘Go 
ye into all the world.” 


W. M. U. TRAINING SCHOOL 
334 East Broadway 
Louisville, Ky. 





i + ; ¥ 
‘ he val 
n 7 “ f al fy ‘+ I ‘ 
- ec < 
E ' 7 ¥ . ‘ - 
, - - . ~ 
Ld 6 
* = . y 
F ' , 
. . - " 4 
de = 
: 
‘ . 
/ J r 
r . 7 
= 7 ~ 
' 
‘ 
' 
j 
. ‘ 
‘ =a 
. 
. . 
> , 
‘ 
~ ‘ 
’ J | 
‘ 4 


